Todd's Ethiopian Adventure: Work

I will be working on a major joint project between the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Regional Education Bureau (SNNP REB) and the British Council beginning as soon as the budget for the teacher training portion of the project can be secured. In the meantime, I am working on collecting baseline data for an Impact Assessment Project that will hopefully provide detailed and useful information for the SNNP REB, the British Council and CUSO-VSO (the organizations that are sponsoring me to be here) regarding the English Language Improvement Initiative that has been launched by the SNNP REB and the British Council.

Photo: Meeting with English teachers and administration to discuss ELIC program

I am travelling to some remote areas because many of the schools are in remote villages and for reasons I am still sorting out, a lot of the data needs to be collected in person. When we are at the remote schools, I feel a bit like a tourist attraction. At one school I was swarmed by literally hundreds of school kids all of whom wanted to practice their English with me. It was like pushing through a dense jungle except the trees were people with outstretched limbs trying to make contact. We have had many adventures while on the road from the truck getting 2 flat tires when we only had one spare and being stuck in a remote village for hours waiting for help to having to use 4x4 to get through washed out areas of dirt roads. However, the result of going to remote areas is the chance to see some amazing countryside and meet some of the most generous people I have ever come across.